The War for Qatar
by Brooke Chiang
Summary: An alternate what-if history in a fictional world where the Global Defense Initiative, Brotherhood of Nod, and Global Liberation Army secretly exist, if Saudi Arabia and its allies blockade and embargo against Qatar had erupted into a full-blown war...
1. The Al-Thani Conspiracy

Emir's Royal Palace, Al Wajba, Doha, Qatar, Middle East, June 2017…

Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the autocratic, young monarch of the tiny but wealthy Middle East nation of Qatar stepped out of his office, whereupon two guards immediately bowed to him.

A little further away, another man- Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar's Prime Minister and the Emir's third cousin- stepped forward respectively to greet the monarch. "Your Highness, I have returned from my meeting with the allied ambassadors. The news is… mixed."

Emir Al-Thani sighed in frustration. "Damn Saudi fucks! Abdullah, walk with me."

The two Qatari royals strolled down the hall.

"The Iranians have pledged another 12,000 soldiers to our cause, with Iraq and Turkey each pledging another 3,000 soldiers. The Germans are reluctant to support us openly, but they have pledged logistical help, military advisors, and a detachment of KSK Special Forces. Pakistan has offered 5,000 soldiers, but it will take some time to mobilize, they say.

A lot of countries have pledged weapons shipments- Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, North Korea, Pakistan, South Africa- to name just a few. Some are already on their way, I'm told. However, just having a lot of weaponry won't do us much good if we don't have the manpower or numbers to use them."

"I see," The Emir nodded. "Use the surplus weapons to intensify efforts to arm terrorist groups. The more regional chaos we generate, the more enemy resources and troops we can tie up in other theaters, gives us more leverage in negotiations and more potential allied irregular forces in the event of war. The more pressure we put on our enemies, the fewer options they have- their forces will be outstretched on too many fronts."

"Of course. You are wise, Emir," Prime Minister Abdullah acknowledged. "But we can't provoke the Americans, British, or French. Their intervention would be devastating for us. I fear ramped-up support for terrorist groups could provoke Western hostility."

"Naturally. However, the West relies on us for natural gas, oil, and military force projection. They wouldn't consider alienating us lightly. As long as we can keep the Saudis at bay, the West will be reluctant to get involved, especially in a costly ground war. The West will only get involved if it looks like the Saudis are about to win. Furthermore, with Germany on our side, their diplomatic efforts will stave off Western intervention. I think it's well worth it to buckle down and commit to supporting anti-Saudi militants across the Middle East. Besides… we have a trump card…"

"You don't mean… the Brotherhood of Nod?" Abdullah's eyes widened. "Can we trust them?"

"The Brotherhood of Nod AND the Global Liberation Army. You're right they can't be entirely trusted, but we need their backing to win any military confrontation. Relay these orders to the Foreign and Defense Ministries."

"As you wish, your Highness."

"I'll be in my bedroom now," The Emir dismissed, and turned away. "If you need me, contact my attendants."

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Four years ago today, an unidentified group of twenty gunmen, suspected to be members of the radical Islamist terrorist group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (which later merged into ISIL) attacked an Egyptian Army military checkpoint in Al-Wadi Al-Gedid, New Valley Governorate, Egypt. The New Valley Governorate is in Egypt's Western Desert, bordering Libya to the west and Sudan to the south. The terrorists killed 22 Egyptian soldiers, but only 3 terrorists were killed, leading Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to declare a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.


	2. Battle of Lawdar, Yemen Civil War

Lawdar, Abyan Governorate, Yemen during the Third Abyan Offensive of the Yemeni Civil War...

Sergeant Muhammad Salman of the Royal Saudi Army sighed as he drove the Humvee sighed as he drove the Humvee out on patrol north of Lawdar, where a number of Houthi guerrilla attacks had put the Coalition and Yemeni forces on edge.

The vehicle's radio crackled, and a familiar voice came over it. "Patrol 3? Sergeant Salman? Do you copy?"

"Captain Aziz? This is Sergeant Salman of Patrol 3! What is the matter, over?"

"We have received a distress call from Yemeni Army Outpost 24, and attempts to raise it have failed! We may be facing a Houthi attack, we need you to scout it out and report the situation! Avoid directly engaging the enemy if possible! We just need you to confirm if there is an attack, over!"

"Yes, Captain! On our way, over!"

He turned the Humvee around and followed his GPS toward the outpost and instructing his troops to ready their weapons.

Very soon, they were approaching the base- and they could see a column of smoke rising from the base, and a number of tanks and armored vehicles surrounding it.

"Oh, looks like the other Saudi and Emirati forces are already here!" Corporal Ibrahim Abbas expressed surprise. "That's unusually fast!"

"Radio in the situation anyway," Salman ordered. "Coordination can be bad, so Aziz might not know the situation yet."

"Yes, sir!"

But as the Patrol 3 Humvee approached the outpost, Salman realized something was very, very wrong. "Wait- no, shit! Shit!"

The tanks and armored vehicles around the base were indeed AMX-30 main battle tanks and AMX-10 infantry fighting vehicles normally used by the Saudi and Emirati forces… but they hung flags of the Houthi terrorists!

"Fall back! Fall back!" Salman screamed and the Humvee screeched backward at top speed.

Slowly, the Houthi tanks finally noticed the Saudi Humvee and began turning their turrets and machine guns toward them.

Private Abdul Malik, the Humvee gunner began firing back with the vehicles' M240 machine gun turret, but it did little good, fusillades of bullets pinging harmlessly off the armored vehicles.

Salman spun the Humvee around at the limit of its agility, just as an tank shell explosion detonated nearby, rocking the vehicle. He turned it around and sped away from the Houthi-occupied outpost at top speed, wearing erratically. "Ibrahim! Tell Captain Azi, the Outpost has fallen! Heavy Houthi armor, tanks and IFVs!"

Luckily, the much-slower Houthi vehicles didn't bother pursuing, and Salman soon escaped their range.

"Corporal, tell the Sergeant- Sergeant, are you there?!" Captain Aziz's frantic voice came back over the radio. "Do not come back to Lawdar, repeat do not come back to Lawdar! Fall back to Al Ayn! I repeat, retreat to Al Ayn! We are being overr-" The signal dispersed into statics.

"Holy Hell-!" Sergeant Abbas exclaimed in horror.

"S-Sergeant, should we stick to the desert and avoid the main roads? We'll have less chance of running into enemy forces that way," Private Malik suggested.

"G-Good i-idea-" Sergeant Salman was still rattled by his close encounter with the enemy. "We'll take the desert route."

He drove speedily through the desert sands, guided by his compass, headed south to Al Ayn.

"Wha- what could have forced us to r-retreat-" Corporal Abbas stammered.

"You idiot, clearly the Houthi scum attacked us," Private exclaimed. "Just like the damned Houthi tanks we saw at that outpost!"

"But how would they have tanks?" Abbas bemoaned. "They should've all been annihilated in the initial airstrikes years ago!"

"Must be Iran's work," Salman muttered furiously. "But how did they get French tanks?"

At least, the Humvee pulled up village of Al Ayn, where hundreds of Saudi, Emirati, and Yemeni troops and militiamen were hastily erecting emergency defenses and dragging out any weaponry they had available.

He waved through the checkpoint, and drove up to a grouping of soldiers. Leaping out of the Humvee, he rushed over to the nearest soldier. "Private! Where is Captain Aziz?"

"Th- The o-officers are in that building, sir- "

Without waiting, Salman rushed into the building, before spotting an officer he recognized. "Lieutenant Khalif! Have you seen Captain Aziz?"

"Damn it! He's gone!" Lieutenant Khalif gritted his teeth. "The idiot kept trying to coordinate the evacuation at Lawdar, instead of getting out himself! He was in the last convoy trying to escape, but they were waylaid by the Republican Guard forces! His vehicle got blown to hell!"

"Wait… did you say Republican Guard?"

"Yes! We weren't attacked by the Houthis, it was the goddamned Republican Guard! The attack was perfectly coordinated and executed, nothing like the haphazard attacks the Houthis use!"

"Damn it!" Aziz clenched his fists angrily at the news. The Yemeni Republican Guard was the elite private enforcers of Yemen's former autocratic dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh. After he'd been overthrown in the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, Saleh and his Republican Guards had allied themselves with the Houthi terrorists.

"At any rate, you should report to Colonel Hamad for debriefing. He's trying to report this catastrophe to Army command. He could use any information you can provide."

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Saudi Defense Ministry, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia…

Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman walked into the Saudi command center. "What's the status in Abyan?"

"Your Highness, the Houthis and Republican Guard traitors haven't advanced passed Lawdar," Saudi Arabia's Chief of Joint Staff, General Abdul Rahman Al Banyan reported. "They tried to advance on our defenses at Al Ayn, but luckily our Air Force, and the Emiratis managed to bomb those bastards en route."

"However, we have intelligence reports suggesting the presence of SAMs being deployed across the Houthi territories…" Lieutenant General Khalid bin Ali Al Humaidan, President of Saudi General Intelligence stated grimly. "This could seriously impair our air campaign. We can't let this stand!"

"Well, luckily, the Sudanese and Senegalese have sent more troops to bolster the southern defenses and take over counterinsurgency operations against the ISIL and Al-Qaeda forces, freeing up ours and Emirati forces to hold back the Houthi invasion," General Banyan explained. "If we can't rely as much on our air assets, we need to bolster the ground forces."

"Now, all we have to figure out how the hell the damned Houthi terrorists and their Republican Guard allies were able to get their filthy hands on French-made AMX-30 tanks and APCs?" Lieutenant General Fahd Al Saud, Commander of Royal Land Forces, punched one fist into the palm of his other hand.

"The Foreign Ministry says France and the Emirates have vehemently denied involvement, and condemned any third parties that have passed on such weapons to terrorists. It seems most likely… regionally…" Lieutenant General Humaidan trailed off.

"Qatar?" Crown Prince Salman finished Humaidan's postulation, a hint of vindication in his voice..

"Not just French tanks, there were German Leopard tanks too!" General Banyan added heatedly. "It has to be Qatar! It's the most logical explanation- and they have the most motive…"

"Well, I guess Turkey could explain the Leopards… and Iraq could explain the AMXs, but both?"

"I can't believe it," Lieutenant General Saud confessed. "Qatar was one of the main contributors to the Coalition at the beginning..."

"Things are different now," Lieutenant General Humaidan stated grimly. "There's little doubt Qatar has joined the ranks of our enemies."

"Make sure all our Coalition allies are made aware of potential Qatari treachery, and contact Washington regarding these developments," Crown Prince Salman made clear.

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Three years ago this day, on July 20, 2015, in a devastating show of weakness by the regime of US President Barack Obama resumed diplomatic relations with Communist Cuba for the first time since the 1960s.

Cuba continues to remain a communist dictatorship known for propping up other left-wing dictatorships across Latin America and Africa (from the socialist Maduro regime in Venezuela to the Morales regime in Bolivia, the Sandinista Ortega regime in Nicaragua, etc.), a regime openly allied with the atrocious communist dictatorship of North Korea, the terrorist-sponsoring Islamist regime in Iran, the Assad regime of Syria. The then-Raul Castro regime and its Diaz-Canel successor regime to blatantly violate human rights and rule through a brutal one-party dictatorship that leaves much of its populace in poverty.

That is just one of many Obama regime actions that kowtowed to rogue dictatorships, which include attempting to restore the Zelaya dictatorship in Honduras, cutting a nuclear deal with Iran, failing to take action when the Assad regime of Syria gassed thousands in chemical weapons attacks, dallying around while Putin invaded Ukraine, and supporting Mohammad Morsi and the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood to seize control of Egypt.


End file.
